Ms. Batman

I'm continuing this after a few weeks of procrastinating!
I started this blog about Iman on how with the 4th child, I'm somewhat a pro in handling kids and sometimes, guiltily, I do take her for granted :(

Just last night as we 'facetimed' with Nadia, she complained that I had 'forgotten' her blog entry. Lol.
Don't take this personally, girl. It;s not you. It's me. I'm the plain and lazy one here! Besides , you're still with me everyday, right there in the next room :)

I have lots to talk about you too and don't worry, they're everything wonderful. So tonight I shall type on as mush as I can remember.

(The following blogging started more than 2 weeks ago!)

Ok. I've been a little lazy. The school holidays do that to me ;) During the school term,I don't have time to breathe and come the holidays I just laze like you can't imagine how lazy I can become. That and just eating!!!! Urgh..

I have to start this blog on the baby of the family. The one all the siblings know is the dad's fave. I know she knows it too; Miss Iman Zainudin bt. Zainudin. 

First thing's first, she was a really easy baby to care for. Maybe it's because when you have 3 little ones all wanting your attention (sometimes all at the same time!), you become quite a pro at handling a baby. Hahaha. But seriously, I can't remember Iman falling sick when she was a baby and in fact until today, she has hardly visited a doctor. Alhamdulillah.  

Always cheerful with minimal fuss, I must say without bias, she was an ideal baby! The only 'quirky' habit she had, well, not a habit really, but she only ate rice fried in tomato sauce EVERY DAY for 2 years maybe. Every day. It was really odd but as I said, when you have a few kids running around, each with different eating habits and wants, it was a relief when you didn't have to fuss with food for one of them. And that ONE was Iman! As long as she had her milk, I was fine with it. Hehehe. Terrible mum, huh?

Maybe because as the youngest, you're surrounded by your older siblings so you learned and picked up everything very quickly! If I'm not mistaken, you started to walk at 9months and started talking soon after. Probably you were dying to compete with Mr. Super Hyper Active Zaim and couldn't wait to zoom around the house or couldn't wait to join in the conversations with your sisters!

One thing I tell people about you is that you were such a happy and bubbly baby. You were also very cute with locks in your hair and a dimpled smile. You've matured into a very pretty young lady now and when I look at you I can't help but feel a little sad that my baby is a baby no more ;(

Iman is one unique young lady (now at the age of almost 17, you are indeed a young lady!) She is passionate towards the most unlikely interest for a young girl; Superheroes! More specifically, Batman. Yeap! To make her day, just give her anything Batman related and I assure you, you'll be her next BFF. My dad once actually gave her a Batman golf iron cover. So, that's her passions covered, golf and Batman.

Very unlike her 2 sisters, she has very little interest in the latest trends in fashion. Give her a pair of comfy jeans and a Batman t-shirt, she's fine. Those and Nike sneakers. Lol !
It's a good thing that she has lovely thick long locks and a dimpled smile so you can't mistake her for the girl she is :)

One trait of Iman that I admire is her ability to make friends easily. Just as she is bff with some of her girlfriends, she is also very comfortable in the company of boys. She'd give the boys a run for their money in any PS games, anytime anywhere! In fact, I found a recent incident quite hilarious; She was playing one of those latest 'shooting' games online with some boys and had 'slain' her opponents. One of the boys was annoyed with her and obviously a sore loser who lost many games against her, kept 'threatening' to ban her from continuing on with the game. Her response to him was, 'Oh, btw, I'm a girl.'
Ooh!! I'd love to see the look on his face then!

Iman is very close to her siblings. She and Zaim have a special connection with each other and share similar interests from the outdoors to playstations to her latest interest in golf. They're compatible in so many things and manner. Their wit especially. If you want a good laugh, sit with Iman (or Zaim) for an hour and you'll know what I mean. 

She also looks up to her sisters and what they say matter to her. Despite her tough exterior, she is one polite young lady, she is very respectful of others and it just warms me inside every time she kisses me goodnight or before she goes out anywhere. 

Her smile makes me smile,

Her laugh is just as infectious,

Her heart is pure and true

And above all, I love you

my dear darling Iman 

TZ

Ok, up next is Tania Zainudin binti Zainudin.

Well, to begin with, Miz T was a happy and healthy baby and didn't have the sniffles often, so visits to the paeds were few and far between. Phew!

I also think maybe, as you have more kids, you become less anxious or all 'jumpy' as soon as a child even as much as coughs or runs a fever! 

My husband used to joke about how our fridge was like a mini pharmacy that had all sorts of cold remedies and cough syrups etc. and how I was... Dr. Mama.

Tania also had a very good appetite when she was younger so that was a big relief. 

Mums out there will agree with me when I say that half the battle is won when a child eats without fuss! 

There was no need for those extra vitamin supplements like I used to give the others. So you can imagine how quite 'gebu' she was :) - She's going to hate me for this! Hehehe!

One distinct and unforgettable childhood (or a babyhood) memory I have of Tania was her quirky habit of wrapping her bottle with tissue every time she drank milk. EVERY time.

Even in the dark she could pull apart a 2-ply tissue carefully and wrap a sheet around her bottle! Odd little girl. Until today we don't know the reason behind that habit of hers.

Ooh but she was our little drama queen right from the start and she knew it! She wanted her way and hers only, else, she'd go all 'Hmmph!', fold her arms and put on a pouty sulky face! Don't get me wrong, she would be the sweetest little girl all smiley, dancing and singing and whatever, but rub her the wrong way and our little Miss DQ would, 'Hmmph!'

I was about the only one who was patient enough and could handle her tantrums and sometimes I think even a saint would lose his head with her when she got into one of her moods.

Thankfully she's outgrown these mood swings and is now one of the most independent, kindhearted , considerate and polite young lady I know. And I'm saying this not just because I'm her mama either! 

Tania, for as long as I can remember would always be with me wherever I went. Be it to the mall, kenduri, to my school or even to the wet market. She was the one who tugged at my skirt and held my hand each time, following me when I went some place or other. The moment she saw me get dressed up, she would be by the car, all ready!

Unlike Zaim, Tania actually liked school. Lol. I don't think she skipped school voluntarily as much as the other 2! She was active in both her academics and co-curricular activities and I know she took pride in the posts she held. I also know for sure that she was passionate about whatever work or task given to her, be it taking part in the Girl Guides marching squad or performing the duties as President of the school interact club. 

I have to say I admire Tania for her perseverance in achieving a goal. 

She worked hard as a leader of her Interact club and organised events after events from planning visits to Old Folks' Home to putting up a mini concert to organising annual dinner... she took charge and she was good at it! For a young girl to bravely call up corporate companies for sponsorship and creatively design advertisements to promote events and wonderfully run the shows, her successful efforts were short of amazing. 

And I'm not saying this just because I'm her mother! 


She has also never disappointed us with her academic achievements. She would quietly do her school work and attend her extra classes and just perform! 

Tania I must say, is also quite the planner. Nadia and I call her our 'travel agent' behind her back (Well, now she knows! Ah ha!) She's actually very good at planning a trip. From getting the best air fares to the best deals on accommodation to details of tourist sights even in countries she has never visited before!

After SPM, Tania worked part time to pay for her holiday in Europe (because she didn't want to burden us financially - bless her) and she managed to also give a treat to Nadia as they travelled together. She flew to London alone to meet up with her sister and from there the two of them took Barcelona and Paris by storm. (Is that right?)

Anyway, there was no stopping her. Recently, once again she planned a trip with Nadia to Korea coz the 2 of them had reached obsession level with the K-Pop culture! 

In fact, they're still really obsessed that they're both taking up the Korean language and I think they've watched all the Korean series there are!! Deybak!

Ever the fashionista, I won't go too much into how she is really a girly girl in the sense that she loves everything fashion related, she and Nadia both, are very particular of their appearances. Heaven forbids if a new zit appears on the face or if the jeans or tops don't fit well!
Both she and her sister would go the extra mile to make sure that they looked just right for the occasion; from the hair to the accessories to the matching outfits, handbag and shoes. A downright father's nightmare! Hahaha.

One thing I have to touch upon are her manners. I must say that this is one aspect of bringing up children I find so important and I know of some people who don't quite bother with it. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything but I get all warm and proud when people compliment my children's manners. Tania is no exception. Thank you and please come to her as naturally as saying out her own name. A friend once commented she was so surprised that Tania thanked me for breakfast at the mamak's one day. My friend said, 'Wow, Kak Liza, Tania actually thanked you just now!'

Oh by the way, a few years back, in a move to be healthier and to lose weight, Tania decided to abstain from eating rice. and she has gone one step further and have stopped junk food too from her diet. (Boo!) So, this makes it the 3rd or 4th year of not eating rice? or something like that. Now it's all about freshly blended juices, wholemeal breads, organic food, zumba, gyms....Talk about self-discipline. I wish I had 1/2 her mental strength to do that. Errr.

Well, I'm sure I'll think of more to write about Tania (and Nadia and Zaim) but it's 2.30a.m. now so I'll 'pen' off for the time being. It's been fun reminiscing the good old days and typing them down for record. Will definitely add on more, as and when I remember. Ciao for now!

You may hold my hand for only a little while, but you will hold my heart for a lifetime, my dear Tania.

ZZ

Next! Lol.

Obviously I have time on my hands! Well, it's the holidays. During the school term, I'm out of the house by 6.25am and back at 3pm and really don't feel like doing much work after that. Much less typing or thinking...I spend most of the days facing the written words either on the whiteboard or in students' books or in lesson plans... so come 3pm, enough is enough.

Well, obviously this chapter is about my second born. If he ever reads this, Zaim, please don't think you're all that special just because you're my only son, ya? Hahaha! This has reminded me of a question he asked a few months back. He said, 'Mum, who's your favourite of us 4?' When I said 'no one!', he didn't quite believe me. But that's God's honest truth! I'm sure there are mums out there who favour one child to the other, but I honestly don't! They are different people in more ways than just their physical looks (though many people would attest that we are all clones!) so, how can I favour one to the next?

Anyway, back to Zaim. Oh gosh! The stories I have about this one! Hmmm. First let me say that my other half really wanted a boy after Nadia. Like really, really! I was fine if I had another girl coz I thought a boy would be harder to care for (as in super hyper active as opposed to Nadia who was 'fragile' and clingy (oklah, manja) etc). When I told Mr. Z that I was having a boy, he grinned from ear to ear all the way back home from the check-up. So excited he was, that he insisted he named the baby. 

As a baby and toddler, Zaim was a guzzler! He'd drink his bottled milk then toss it away and ask for another before you even turned your back! And true to my prediction, this boy was the definition of super hyper active (you wouldn't think that seeing him lie in bed all day long these days!). Anyway, he'd just be full steam ahead all day long and the moment he lay down at the end of the day, he'd doze off in seconds! 

Typical of a mischievous brother, he was almost always the cause behind someone crying. We have a few video recordings of the kids when they were younger and you can always hear either the father or me saying, 'ZAIM!' in the background telling him off for something or other! Haih!

Zaim likes to read. Not !! And that was one of my biggest problems with him at school. So different from Nadia, this boy, and I was always at my wit's end. But in saying that, he would continuously surprise us with his results. We realised that Zaim was not quite academically inclined not because he wasn't smart enough but rather the education system wasn't working for him. From as long as I can remember, he'd always been a curious boy. He'd ask me questions non-stop that he often drove me up the wall ! It was always 'Why?' or 'How?'  or 'What?' and as much as I tried to give him answers, many a times I'd just say, 'Enough!' 'Stop asking!' 'Errr, shut up'.
-So much for learning child psychology at university. Lol.

His lack of passion for reading (hahaha) worried me a teensy weensy every time he faced an exam to the extent that I would beg him to write an essay for me to mark. 
Nope. He never once did. 
I wasn't too worried I suppose, as he spoke (and still does) well and in fact if you asked Zaim a question in Malay, he would almost always reply in English. I must say I owe Mr. Yu BIG time for helping Zaim with his BM because he was painfully atrocious at BM ! 
Luck was definitely on his side for his SPM English paper. When I picked him up from school, he confidently told me that he had aced his paper and when I didn't show much confidence, he said, 'Don't worry, I had ALL the facts coz I watched a documentary on Tiger Woods LAST night so I wrote everything about him!'  Phew! Thank you Astro.
Well, that's Zaim!

Along with his curiosity for EVERYTHING, comes his wit and he is one very witty boy (I'll always think of you as a boy however old you are). Until today, even when surrounded by his younger cousins, you can bet the reason behind everyone roaring with laughter is something Zaim has said!
He would always make me laugh out loud over the smallest things and his ridiculous jokes. 

I have told this next little anecdote about him to a few people because it's something I'll never forget. Well, he was young then, maybe 5/6 years old, and we were all in the car. Of course as I was driving, he asked me all sorts of questions and what with the traffic jam and everyone feeling hungry and complaining all at the same time,naturally I got a little irritated. So after several times of him asking me something irrelevant, I just said, ''The next person to call out 'Mama' has to pay me 50 sen!''
Several times after that he 'almost' called out for me but stopped JUST in time.
After a few minutes however, he tapped on my shoulder and said, 'Excuse me, may I call you Liza?' !!!!! 
I swear I almost swerved when I heard that as I burst out laughing! Well, that's Zaim!

There are more stories, lots more and I'll probably add on to this entry as and when, but for now, I would just like to say that Allah has given me a beautiful son in you, Zaim. For that  and much more, I'm eternally grateful to Him. I can just feel it in my bones that you will have a bright future ahead and I'll be proud of you no matter what.

NZ

Okay. Am going to skip 'Myself'' and go on to the other lives whom I can't live without. My babies. My pride and joy. The loves of my life. The ones I'm most proud of.

This entry is dedicated to Nadia.

I suppose like with any firstborn, you really have no idea what to expect of a child. Of your OWN child. Not someone or something you can play with, then return to its owner. But your flesh and blood and your responsibility for the rest of your life no matter how old (or how smart! ) they get.

I was expecting Nadia when I had to go back for my final year of university in gloomy cold Coventry. I had to handle morning sickness on my own and it was not fun. My 'new' husband was 10,000 miles away and to experience this on my own made me 'grow up' real quick. I remember taking the bus to my pre-natal check ups at the NHS OBG clinics  in town and feeling quite sad that I was on my own. 

As with all my pregnancies, I must say that I was very lucky to have had mild discomfort and overall an easy time throughout the 9 months (4 times!). I can't, until today comprehend how some people 'suffer' so much with morning sickness and cramps etc. I must stress however, luck definitely wasn't on my side when giving birth though! Horrors of horrors! I don't even want to think about it and definitely not going to recall the looong hours of contractions and gasping for air! Yikes.

Nadia was a good baby and I think it was us adults, who were too anxious and too 'careful' that somehow, subconsciously, she felt it too. So she was a little fussy, a little 'spoilt' (manja) and I remember how with every sniffle, I'd rush her to the pediatrician. It wasn't her fault. It was ours; first time mum,dad,grandma & grandpa. I will never forget this; my husband was carrying her to stop her fr crying and every time she stopped, he'd sit down and she would start crying again. It was really funny actually. At one point, he said, 'Nadia! we're already on the 3rd floor, it makes no difference if I sit down!' 

Nadia went to nursery/kindergarten at the age of 1+! It was my aunt's place, 'Rasa Sayang' in Taman Tun. She was well taken care of there and I think her love for reading started then where she was surrounded by the Peter & Jane series. Thank you Aunty :) 

But before that, pre-maid days (my friends know how LONG our maid has been with us!) she was taken care of very well by another aunt who has since passed. I can never thank you enough, Mami, for caring and taking care of Nadia then. May Allah bless your soul and may you be amongst angels up there in heaven.

Back to kindy days, I remember her getting an 'award' for being the longest staying pupil there!! That was quite funny. I mean, to be in kindergarten for that long!

Nadia was always quite shy. She never liked being the centre of attention. She'd quietly read her books and because she didn't like to be called upon, she'd always make sure she was polite and checked her manners and did her homework. Oh, she was also Miss Prim and Proper.

She's different now (in a good way of course), more confident, more independent but still considerate of others. One thing that  I'm so glad is that she is very close to her siblings and I don't think she realises this, but deep down they have a lot of respect for her. I can't remember a time when she'd quarrel or get too angry with any of them simply because I think they just accepted her as the kakak and 'listened' to her. Of all 4, she's the most tolerant and would give in to the others most of the time.

One way of getting her to be bolder and to shed some of her timidness, was to force her to do things on her own when she was younger ignoring the reluctant 'sebak' look on her face. I made her pay for her own things at the cashier while I stood at a distance. It was that or not buying at all! I didn't coddle her much coz she had a brother the following year and a sister the year after that.
Yeap! Couldn't stop having babies even if i wanted to! 

I'd make sure I didn't use baby talk and I remember 'experimenting' something with her. I had a Welsh lecturer who was married to a Filipino. I met his family at a X'mas do and was so fascinated by their son. He was maybe 4 years old then and spoke English to the dad and when he turned to his mum, he spoke perfect Tagalog! I couldn't wait to try this out with my own kids and so with Nadia, the deal was, with me she'd speak English and with her papa, Malay. Well, that didn't quite turn out as planned because she ended up speaking a lot more English! Boo papa!
She has become quite the writer and she is the one who prompted me to start blogging. I think she's been blogging now for more than 7 years, maybe?

Growing up, I had little or almost no problems with Nadia at school. I'm very blessed indeed. Someone once told me that if we are sincere in what we do, we might not be rewarded personally but the reward will be in our children.  And I still hold on to that belief. And I still try to be as sincere as I possibly can.

Nadia loves fashion and has impeccable taste. I never taught her this. Traits like this is just innate. You can teach manners and etiquette but not something like this. And I'm very proud of this coz you can't help but feel wonderful when others compliment your children on their behaviour and manners or even over something like fashion. Oh. One thing she's picked up from me though, is the love of books. Again, innate. And like me, she can't sing either! Hehehe. Sorry, girl. 

We're close, Nadia and I. And I can't stress how important the bond is, between children and their mums. I've been in school long enough to see the sad reality of broken families or the rifts between parents and their children that I thank God for giving me patience and compassion to handle kids. There are no secrets between Nadia and I and how I miss our talks and gossips on the drive to school then later, college. Oh, and our love for tv series! That's another blog altogether!

It's my hope and dreams that she'll have the life she's always wanted. I've played my role and now she's on her way to living her dreams. I know she knows that she's in my doa every single time (just as the other 4 are) and I'm her biggest fan.

She's a daughter any mother would be lucky to have and I'm the one who struck gold in Nadia. 

Intro: Part 2

Anyways,

Let's continue.

I was thinking in the car just now how vain it would be to just talk about myself and my life. Like, who cares, right? Then I thought again, hmmm, I'm doing this to just record my life and 'immortalise' it so that my grandchildren some day, would have an insight of the person I was. Sounds legit. To me at least. I'm definitely treating this as a diary coz I used to keep diaries when I was a young girl but have no idea where they are now.

I know my life is not THAT interesting. Far from it. I'm just a normal suburban mum who leads a normal life and who happens to be a teacher. How mundane is that?? But I do have all these jumbled up stories and thoughts in my head and I'm wondering if what I consider normal is not so, to others.

First thing's first, I really need to structure my ideas and thoughts otherwise it's going to be just a big mess of unrelated incidences and they would just sound like rants of a crazy person!

I actually drafted my ideas on paper (hahaha) and have come up with a rough outline of what I plan to blog about.

Firstly, a little narcissistic description of me!

Then, I plan to dedicate a piece each to all 4 of my kids (I can see you cringe, Nadia!)
Then, of course my college and university years. My kids would attest how vivid my memories are of the best 6 years of my life in the UK.

Then, maybe my own love story. Errr. Lol. But there IS a story there I believe.

Then, my life as a teacher since that is a HUGE part of my life. I mean, I've been in school since I was 7 ! What?? Serious.

Then maybe I'd describe unusual happenings as my days unfold before me.

Sounds like a plan.

Stay tuned.

Intro 1

 

Introduction entry.

Hi people! (not that I think many will actually read this! Lol )

Okay. That's not a flattering photo but that's all I have for now :)

I'm quite excited to start this blog. Finally! After a long time of contemplating and postponing then forgetting then thinking about it again. My girls are quite good at this blogging thing and I always thought I might be quite good at it too. I have so much to talk about and tell and everything's just jumbled up there somewhere in my grey matter. I feel like I should, you know, draft first and rearrange all these thoughts into more cohesive chapters of my life and I found that THAT was my problem. I finally decided, whaddefish! Just bulldoze and see how it goes. I know that my mind thinks faster than my fingers can type so that was part of the problem too. But I've been quite free (read: bored) of late and tadaa! this was born.

I personally think my kids will be quite mortified that I've started this business of blogging but on the other hand I've been told that I'm quite a funny and entertaining person so let's see if that can be translated on print, so bear with me. I'm still old school in that, I actually enjoy using the pen on paper so I'm still going to draft my 'topics' of future blogs. Hehehe.
For this entry and the next, it's going to be just aimless ramblings, like I'm talking to myself in the mirror (which I often do! - don't be scared, I'm not crazy. I hope)

Ok. will stop for a while. I KNOW I'll continue soon.